President Trump’s State of the Union address before Congress is likely to be delayed, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has asked the President to hold his speech on grounds of security. The address was scheduled to be held on January 29.

Pelosi sent an official letter to the White House on Wednesday, telling President Trump that “Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest we work together to determine another suitable date after government has re-opened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union in writing to the Congress on January 29.”

The letter is presented as a request; however, both the House of Representatives and the Senate are required to pass resolutions to enable the yearly address. Without Pelosi’s support, the President will not have a platform this year.

Security Issues Cited as a Reason for Delaying the Union Address

The security issues referred to in the letter are based around reduced federal staffing during the government shutdown. Pelosi said that the issues are “completely out of my hands” and she also suggested that the President could give his address from the White House, without Congressional attendance.

The United States Secret Service is responsible for the security of high profile political events like the State of the Union address. As a subsidiary agency of the Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service has been without funding for 26 days.

A Politically Charged Move

Pelosi and Trump are key players in the current government shutdown, which was initiated when Democrats were unwilling to pass $5.7 billion in funding for the President’s border wall project. With Democrats holding firm, and the President refusing to sign any federal spending bill that doesn’t include the funding, the government is now in a standoff.

This has left 800,000 federal workers either furloughed or working without pay.

There is speculation that Pelosi is reluctant to allow the State of the Union address because it could be used by Trump to reinforce his border wall and shutdown messaging.

President Trump Approves Backpay for Federal Workers

While federal employees won’t receive paychecks for as long as the shutdown persists, they will at least receive backpay once it ends. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate approved a bill last week that would guarantee backpay. The President then signed the bill into law on Wednesday of this week. There was unanimous bipartisan support for the bill.

The shutdown is the longest in history by a significant margin. Lawmakers remain deadlocked with neither Democrats or Republicans willing to budge on their positions so far.